The Adventure of the Jade Elephant
by xfreak0310
Summary: My first Sherlock Holmes story.


The Adventure of the Jade Elephant

By:Xfreak0310

June 4, 1895. Fog filled the dark streets of London. Holmes sat in a chair reading a book and smoking his pipe. The clouds of smoke ominously billowed to the ceiling, while I worked on a crossword puzzle. "Hmm, what is a seven letter word for Japanese flower arranging?" I asked Holmes. For a moment, voices were silent. The crackling of the fire and the rhythmic tick of the clock echoed through the room. "Ikebana," he said less than a second later.

Suddenly, a knock at the door broke the silence. I went to answer it. As I opened it, a woman faced me. "I am in desperate need of your assistance," she said a bit awkwardly. I invited her in.

As she stepped in, Holmes greeted her. "I've been expecting you," he said. I didn't know what he meant, but he explained. "I read in the paper yesterday morning that you, the famous actress, Laura Pennyfeather, I presume, are holding a benefit at the Riverton Museum to showcase a rare jade elephant from Asia tomorrow. Then, later when I went to bed last night, I heard sirens in the direction of the museum. I presumed that the elephant had been stolen.

"That, my friend, is correct," said Mrs. Pennyfeather. "That much I do know, but please tell me everything else that may be helpful," said my companion, "My attention is all yours." "As you know," started Mrs. Pennyfeather, "The elephant was stolen around midnight. As soon as I got the call from the police, I drove over immediately. I haven't slept since. With out the elephant at my benefit, I won't make any money, the orphanage I sponsor won't get any money, and I won't get any money!"

"I see," said Holmes observing Mrs. Pennyfeather's expensive clothing. "Go on," he urged, "What about any suspects?" "Well," she continued. "A few come to mind; The Museum Curator, Mr. Lucas, for one and the night watch man, who also serves as the janitor. He has keys to all the rooms and displays in the entire museum. A museum guest comes to mind last, Andrew Chang. He absolutely loves the elephant. Everyday he asks if it will be on display early, or if he could have a peek at it.

"Interesting," said Holmes, "I think that the next thing to do would be to head over to the museum." As we arrived, we entered the banquet room. The lock on the door had been broken. As we walked in, I noticed something near the broken glass case that displayed elephant. "Over there," I said as I walked toward it. Holmes walked over as well. As he did, Holmes picked up a badge. "It's a Curator badge," said Holmes. He examined it further. "Interesting," he murmured to himself. "I need to make a phone call," said Holmes. He then walked away. "Well, it seems to me that we now know who did it," said Mrs. Pennyfeather in her typical snooty voice.

About ten minutes later, Sherlock came back in. "Well," said Holmes, "This eliminates one suspect. Mr. Lucas, the curator didn't do it." "What in the world are you talking about?" I interrupted. "It's really quite simple," Holmes answered. "I noticed a patent number on the back of the badge. I called the patent office, and they told me that company that manufactures Halloween costumes, movie replicas, and costume jewelry made this badge." "Whoever stole the elephant must have also purchased this fake badge to frame Mr. Lucas," I said. "It seems you are right for once," said Holmes laughing. "Your average is rising." I could tell that Mrs. Pennyfeather was shocked by holmes's power of deduction.

We continued to investigate. "There's not much else here," I said. "What do we do now?" asked Mrs. Pennyfeather. "Well," said Holmes, "I think we should go interrogate some of the suspects." "My thoughts exactly," I said quickly. "I want to interrogate Mr. Chang first," said Holmes. We headed off to interrogate our next suspect.

As we arrived at the home of Andrew Chang, Sherlock mentioned one thing, "Don't say anything," he warned. "Let me do the talking." I had no clue what he meant, but I knew he had experience in interrogation, so I didn't say anything. We walked up and Sherlock knocked on the door. A small Japanese man opened the door.

"Go away," he said as soon as he saw Mrs. Pennyfeather, before Holmes could say anything. "I didn't steal the elephant. Leave me alone!" with that, he slammed the door in our faces. "Open that door," I yelled. "No need," said Holmes. "He has sealed his lips." "Who will we question next?" asked Mrs. Pennyfeather, trying to change the subject. "No one at all," said Holmes, "I believe we have enough information for today."

We said goodbye to Mrs. Pennyfeather, then went home. When we got home, Sherlock went directly to bed. I thought about what had happened lately. As I sat in my chair pondering, I felt as if the puzzle was beginning to take shape. I still couldn't see the whole thing, but with Sherlock by my side, I believed we could solve any mystery.

The next morning, Mrs. Pennyfeather arrived at our office. "What do we do now?" she asked frantically. "Simple," said Sherlock with a smile. "We notify the police and tell them who stole the elephant." Baffled, my mouth dropped to the floor. "Who did do it?" I asked. "Mr. Chang," proclaimed Holmes. "How could you possibly know that?" snapped Mrs. Pennyfeather.

"Well," started Sherlock. "It's obvious that Mr. Lucas wouldn't frame himself, so that would eliminate him. But then I thought about the Janitor; if he has the keys to the room and display, then why would he need to break the lock and glass? That eliminated him. Then, to confirm my suspicion, I wanted to talk to Mr. Chang." "Oh…" said Mrs. Pennyfeather, almost disappointed for no obvious reason. "Then, when he mentioned the jade elephant before you did, you knew that he stole it for sure, and then sold it to someone." Silent, Holmes said nothing. I could tell that the wheels and gears in his head were spinning at the speed of light. "Yes," he said. "I suppose we should head over to Chang's house now," I said.

Sherlock called the police, and he told them to meet us at residence of a Mr. Andrew Chang. When we arrived, the police inspector, Chase Baldwin began to interrogate Andrew. "Where is the elephant?" asked Chase. Sherlock knew that it was just a matter of time before he would make a full confession. "Fine, I did it," admitted Andrew after almost an hour of questioning. At this Mrs. Pennyfeather shrieked with delight. "Well then," she squawked. "Give it back, the benefit is today!" "That's too bad," said Andrew. "I can't do that, I don't have it anymore." "What do you mean?" asked Mrs. Pennyfeather. "I sold it." Andrew said, trying not to burst into laughter. "YOU SOLD IT?!!!" Mrs. Pennyfeather exploded. "Now I'll never get the elephant back!"

I saw Holmes lean over to whisper to Chase. "Oh, stop the act," said Holmes. "We know that you have the elephant, Laura. Give it up!" "Andrew, Mrs. Pennyfeather hired you to steal the elephant from the museum for her, didn't she?" asked Chase though he knew the answer. "Yes," he admitted. Mrs. Pennyfeather said nothing. "Hand it over," said chase. "Fine," she screamed. She handed the much envied elephant to the officer.

"Better hurry, and get this back to the museum," said Chase. With that, Sherlock grabbed the elephant, and the two of us headed off to the museum to take the prized possession to its rightful place, as Chase took both Mrs. Pennyfeather, and Mr. Chang to the police station. "I suppose that with Mrs. Pennyfeather behind bars," I said as we began to drive to the Riverton Museum, "all the money from the benefit goes to the orphanage!" Holmes said nothing, just smiled.

"But one thing," I continued. "How did you know that Mrs. Pennyfeather hired Andrew Chang?" Holmes was silent for a moment, then he began; "Quite simple, Watson," he began. "When I explained Mr. Chung's slipup, Mrs. Pennyfeather had one of her own. She mentioned Andrew selling the elephant, even though all evidence at that point made it seem as if he would want the elephant for himself. Then, when Andrew admitted he didn't have the elephant, Mrs. Pennyfeather, being the actress she is, acted like she didn't know what he was talking about. Her response would have been a reasonable response, had she not mentioned him selling the elephant in the first place."

"It just goes to show you, how greed can ruin your life," said Holmes in a sad tone as we continued on. "Laura Pennyfeather, a once respectable actress is going to spend a long time in jail. Greed has probably ruined her career."

As I looked back at the adventure of the jade elephant, I can't help but feel grief. The whole thing is sad really, two lives ruined, because of greed. That's a scary thought.

Sherlock gave a thoughtful look as we arrived at 221B Baker Street. We walked in, and I had just picked up my crossword puzzle again, the phone ran. I walked up and answered the phone. "Hello, is Sherlock Holmes there?" I heard a troubled voice ask. I could tell that we had a case on our hands, but that's just another day with Sherlock Holmes on Baker Street.


End file.
